All Publications

2014
Family Violence Death Review Committee Fourth Annual Report: January 2013 to December 2013. Health Quality & Safety Commission New Zealand; 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.hqsc.govt.nz/our-programmes/mrc/fvdrc/publications-and-resour...

The report sets out information, findings and recommendations from data on all family violence homicides in the four years from 2009 to 2012, and from in-depth regional reviews of 17 family violence death events.

It goes beyond previous reports. For the first time, the pattern of violence has been included in the analysis of all family violence deaths, which better addresses the context in which these distressing events occur.This broader brush provides insights into the responses required to prevent future deaths.

The report suggests the family violence workforce needs to think differently if it is to respond effectively and safely to people living with family violence. It recommends improved family violence training, a stronger response to risk factors, and changes in legislation to better support those victimised by family violence.

Normalising or minimising family violence fails people who are at risk of being killed. The report advocates campaigning to encourage safe and effective interventions by friends, family, neighbours and workmates.

Women's Lives and Challenges: Equality and Empowerment since 2000. United States Agency for International Development. 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/mar-7-2014-usaid-re...

This report, among the most extensive recent assessments of women’s status, looks at women’s progress in four continents and more than 45 countries.  Women’s Lives and Challenges evaluates trends in women’s employment, domestic decision-making, exposure to violence, and access to education and health care. 

More Than Bruises Are Left Behind. Matla A Bana. 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://matlaabana.co.za/our-projects.php

SECONDARY GOAL

To minimise the secondary abuse children suffer when they report abuse against them. This abuse is often worse than the primary abuse, due to a very unsympathetic reporting system. 

PRIMARY GOALS

“Getting conversation going”

To prevent more child abuse from happening by securing more reporting. To mobilise communities to start speaking about child abuse.

To educate communities on what child abuse is, signs and symptoms and how to report it.

To  educate the public and children on reporting, highlight myths and facts of child abuse and to mobilise the community to start reporting.

Ngwena C, Durojaye E. Strengthening the protection of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the African region through human rights. Pretoria University Law Press; 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.pulp.up.ac.za/edited-collections/strengthening-the-protection...

Strengthening the protection of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the African region through human rights uses rights-based frameworks to address some of the serious sexual and reproductive health challenges that the African region is currently facing. More importantly, the book provides insightful human rights approaches on how these challenges can be overcome. The book is the first of its kind. It is an important addition to the resources available to researchers, academics, policymakers, civil society organisations, human rights defenders, learners and other persons interested in the subject of sexual and reproductive health and rights as they apply to the African region. Human rights issues addressed by the book include: access to safe abortion and emergency obstetric care; HIV/AIDS; adolescent sexual health and rights; early marriage; and gender-based sexual violence.

2014 Trafficking In Persons Report - Israel. Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons; 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2014/226745.htm

The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report is the U.S. Government’s principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. It represents an updated, global look at the nature and scope of trafficking in persons and the broad range of government actions to confront and eliminate it.

This 2014 report has findings specific to Israel.

Advocacy before the Inter-American System: Manual for Attorneys and Advocates. International Justice Resource Center; 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.ijrcenter.org/regional/inter-american-system/#Resources_for_A...

International Justice Resource Center's publication, Advocacy before the Inter-American System: Manual for Attorneys and Advocates (2014) provides detailed information on the System, its components, complaints procedure, and decisions (also available in SpanishPortuguese and Haitian Creole).

Eliminating All Forms of Discrimination and Violence Against Women: Written statement submitted by Al-khoei Foundation to the UN Human Rights Council. Al-khoei Foundation; 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/alldocs.aspx?doc_id=23280

 

Select "A/HRC/26/NGO/15"

 

The Al-Khoei Foundation is submitting this statement to appeal to the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its Causes and Consequences, to continue her effective advocacy on a number of issues that contribute to violence against women and it’s many causal factors.

European Court – Practical Guide on Admissibility. European Court of Human Rights. 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.echr.coe.int/Pages/home.aspx?p=caselaw/analysis&c=#n1347458601286_pointer

 This practical guide to the conditions of admissibility of individual applications is to be seen in the same context. It is designed to present a clearer and more detailed picture of the conditions of admissibility with a view, firstly, to reducing as far as possible the number of applications which have no prospect of resulting in a ruling on the merits and, secondly, to ensuring that those applications which warrant examination on the merits pass the admissibility test. At present, in most cases which pass that test, the admissibility and merits are examined at the same time, which simplifies and speeds up the procedure.

This document is aimed principally at legal practitioners and in particular at lawyers who may be called upon to represent applicants before the Court. All the admissibility criteria set forth in Articles 34 (individual applications) and 35 (admissibility criteria) of the Convention have been examined in the light of the Court’s case- law. Naturally, some concepts, such as the six-month time-limit and, to a lesser extent, the exhaustion of domestic remedies, are more easily defined than others such as the concept of “manifestly ill-founded”, which can be broken down almost ad infinitum, or the Court’s jurisdiction ratione materiae or ratione personae. Furthermore, some Articles are relied on much more frequently than others by applicants, and some States have not ratified all the additional Protocols to the Convention, while others have issued reservations with regard to the scope of certain provisions. The rare instances of inter-State applications have not been taken into account as they call for a very different kind of approach. This guide does not therefore claim to be exhaustive and will concentrate on the most commonly occurring scenarios. 

Kingsley P. Egyptian doctor to stand trial for female genital mutilation in landmark case. The Guardian. 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/21/egyptian-doctor-fadl-tria...

Raslan Fadl, a doctor in a Nile delta village, is accused of killing 13-year-old schoolgirl Sohair al-Bata'a in a botched operation

Barrowclough A. 'It is the young flesh they want'. The Australian. 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/weekend-australian-magazine/it-is-t...

On best estimates, the number of girls in Australia being forced into marriage here or overseas is in the hundreds every year. Girls as young as 12 or 13 are disappearing from schoolyards, packed off to the countries of their parents’ birth to wed men they have never met, while others are taken from their homes in southern Asia and the Middle East and brought into Australia to marry.

Win TL. Myanmar Activists Demand Law to Ban Violence Against Women Pearce T. The New York Times. 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

Myanmar Activists Demand Law to Ban Violence Against Women

This article from The New York Times explores Myanmar's lack of infrastructure to combat violence against women and children. 

Jemia MB, Sedou L, Scott M, Thill M, Pavlou S, Brié F, Alqurah L. Violence against Women in the context of Political Transformations and Economic Crisis in the Euro-Mediterranean Region: Trends and Recommendations towards Equality and Justice. EuroMed Rights - Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network; 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://euromedrights.org/publication/violence-against-women-in-the-conte...

On the occasion of International Women’s Day (8th of March), the Euro Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) published today its regional report “Violence against women in the context of political transformations and economic crisis in the Euro-Mediterranean region; trends and recommendations towards equality and justice”.

This report alerts that violence against women has dramatically increased in the Euro-Mediterranean region during the recent years,  showcasing key patterns of violence against women, through case studies from Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Libya, France, Cyprus and Spain.

The report also underlines the alarming increase and severity of sexual violence in countries such as Libya, Syria and Egypt mounting to sexual terrorism.  In Egypt, women protestors were subjected to systematic and seemingly planned harassment and gang rapes in Tahrir Square. In Syria, women and are subjected to trafficking and sexual exploitation girls in refugee camps.

Cohen DK, Nordas R, Wood E. Four Things Everyone Should Know about Wartime Sexual Violence. The Washington Post. 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/06/09/four-thing...

The three-day Global Summit in June 2014 to End Sexual Violence in Conflict co-chaired by Angelina Jolie, offered visitors insight into the summit's message through cinema, art and photography in London. 

Global Summit Falls Short on Concrete Commitments to End Sexual Violence. The International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict. 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.stoprapeinconflict.org/media

Members of The International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict today expressed their disappointment that the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence, hosted by the UK government, ended with few tangible results that will make an immediate impact on the ground.

Pancio K. Barriers to Implementing VAW Law Against Domestic Violence in Three Asian Countries (China, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), in Initiative on VAW, March 2014 Research Briefing. Carr Center for Human Rights, Harvard Kennedy School of Government ; 2014.Abstract

Subject: This research memorandum presents key findings from desk research conducted in January and February 2014, on the barriers to instituting appropriate VAW laws against domestic violence (DV), and to effectively implementing them in three countries in Asia (China, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka).

Background and Cross-Cutting Findings: China, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka have all ratified CEDAW; however, both China and Pakistan have not passed the Optional Protocol to CEDAW. Research found four cross-cutting barriers impeding the institutionalization of appropriate VAW laws against DV in these three countries:

1)  The predominant public discourse on DV is fragmented. As a result, an overall sense of urgency and severity of the problem is not felt among key stakeholders in all 3 countries.

2)  Other national policies regarding housing, marriage, fertility, migration, etc. undermine both the international (CEDAW) legal framework, and the national policies set up for service provision and protection across all three countries.

3)  There is an overall lack of appropriate resource allocation among all 3 countries for comprehensively implementing appropriate VAW laws against DV. A large body of evidence suggests multiple root causes for VAW-DV, and States disagree on where and how to allocate resources to VAW-DV (prevention, intervention, prosecution, and protection).

4)  Incomparable and unreliable data is the 4th major barrier to instituting appropriate VAW laws against DV both internationally through CEDAW, and nationally within all 3 countries. Transparency of data collection methodologies is also a noted concern. 

barriers_to_implementing_vaw_law_against_domestic_violence_in_three_asian_countries_china_pakistan_sri_lanka_march_2014.pdf
Eslick N. Violence against Women in Australia and The National Action Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, in Initiative on VAW, Research Briefing. Carr Center for Human Rights, Harvard Kennedy School of Government ; 2014.Abstract

Violence against Women (VAW) is a pervasive, global human rights violation. This research memo discusses the current state of VAW in Australia, and the Australian Governments proposed National Action Plan (NAP) addressing VAW across Australia’s diverse community. Noting that women’s rights are not fully protected by the Commonwealth and revealing the current appalling statistics around domestic and sexual violence against Australian women, the memo then provides insight on Indigenous women and VAW, followed by a deeper look at NAP. Finally, after a brief look at the recent study tour of Australia by the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Australia’s commitment to addressing VAW is discussed with reference to reporting for CEDAW and UPR. The memo then considers the Special Rapporteur’s study tour in light of the election of a new federal government. It then concludes that if the state shows genuine commitment to its people, and to its obligations under human rights treaties, the onus ultimately rests on it to work with civil society to make use of the human rights mechanisms and seek to honestly and with purpose examine their human rights status and develop and adopt sustainable positive change. 

vaw_in_australia_and_the_national_action_plan_to_reduce_violence_against_women_and_their_children_march_2014.pdf
Gupta R. 'Victim' vs 'Survivor': feminism and language. openDemocracy . 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/rahila-gupta/victim-vs-survivor-femin...

Rahila Gupta argues that the term ‘victim’ needs to be reclaimed by feminist politics; whilst 'survivor' is important because it recognises the agency of women, it focuses on individual capacity, but the notion of 'victim' reminds us of the stranglehold of the system.

Timeline of Policy Commitments and International Agreements. UN Women. 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.endvawnow.org/en/articles/302-timeline-of-policy-commitments-...

Decades of advocacy efforts led by the women’s movement and grassroots organizations across all regions have led to the recognition that violence against women and girls is a manifestation of systematic gender discrimination and inequality, a violation of human rights and detrimental to development. The historical developments below highlight the building momentum and increasing attention to violence against women on international and regional agendas.

2013
Measuring and responding to violence against women in Kiribati - Action on gender inequality as a social determinant of health. World Health Organization. Regional Office for the Western Pacific; 2013. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://iris.wpro.who.int/handle/10665.1/10446

As  in  many  places,  gender  inequality  is  prevalent  in  the  Pacific  island  nation  of  Kiribati.  the WHO commission on Social Determinants of Health underlined in 2008 that gender inequality  impacts  health  through  “discriminatory  feeding  patterns,  violence  against  women, lack of decision-making power, and unfair divisions of work, leisure, and possibilities of improving one’s life,” in addition to limiting access to health care services. A significant consequence  of  gender  inequality  is  the  high  level  of  gender-based  violence,  including  sexual, emotional and physical, perpetrated by intimate partners and non-partners. three years  after  the  final  report  of  the  Commission  on  Social  Determinants  of  Health,  WHO  convened  the  World  Conference  on  Social  Determinants  of  Health  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil, in october 2011 to review progress on implementing the recommendations of the commission, draw lessons from experiences and catalyse coordinated global action. this paper was developed in the run-up to the world conference as examples of policy action aimed at tackling key determinants of health and reducing health inequities. covering the period between 2008 and 2011, the paper demonstrates that efforts to measure the extent of a problem can raise political awareness and thereby effectively trigger policy responses on key determinants of gender-based violence and, more broadly, health.

Prior to 2008, health policy-makers were unaware of the prevalence of gender-based violence  in  Kiribati,  as  no  nationally  representative  study  on  the  problem  had  ever  been  conducted. with support from the Australian government, the United Nations Population Fund  (UNFPA)  and  the  Secretariat  of  the  Pacific  community  (SPC),  and  drawing  on  the  methodology  of  the  WHO  Multi-country  Study  on  Women’s  Health  and  Domestic  Violence, the kiribati ministry of Internal and social Affairs (MISA) conducted its first family health and support study in 2008. A committee of stakeholders was assembled to guide the research, support its planning and implementation, and provide a longitudinal sense of buy-in and ownership.

Romano M. Kiribati Islands. A Situation Analysis of Children, Women and Youth. UNICEF; 2013. Publisher's VersionAbstract

Most of the issues affecting children, youth and women can be effectively addressed through the Government’s commitment to the obligations of international conventions such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Government should provide resources to the Kiribati National Advisory Committee on Children (KNACC) and also put in place effective advocacy structures to ensure children and women’s issues are known and mainstreamed into the national development agenda. 

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